Lettice and Lovage (and Pete)

Years before Maggie Smith assumed the role of the sniffy, domineering Lady Grantham who can wither with a glance in Downton Abbey...once upon a time, when I was going to school at Regent's College in London, waaay back in 1987, I took in a performance of Peter Shaffer's brilliant and hilarious play Lettice and Lovage. It starred none other than the incomparable lady herself in the role of Lettice Douffet, which was written for her (she won the Tony for it stateside in 1990).

I didn't know what the play was about and wasn't sure if it would be some sort of period drama that I might not care for. I just wanted to see the Dame on stage. What I witnessed was absolutely unforgettable and the astonished socks reaching up to my then 19-year old ankles were completely knocked off. I waited for close to an hour in the alleyway by the stage door after the performance to await the grand lady. She was so kind as to sign my program and then I ushered her to a cab. I myself walked home on winged feet propelled by utter elation.

Here's what you can do with a little lovage when captured in season; such a lovely, fragrant green that reminds one of vibrant celery leaves:

Lovage Simple Syrup
Ingredients
A fistful of lovage
1:2 cups ratio of sugar and water (may be altered, as some like it sweeter)

Method
Bring sugar and water to a boil. Reduce heat to low and stir for several minutes to dissolve sugar. Add lovage, stir and let cool. Strain out the lovage and then refrigerate the liquid for a few hours, tightly sealed in something such as a Mason jar, in miniature.

This little concoction is a refreshing pause when added to seltzer water and perhaps a squeeze of lemon. Hendricks gin, which has notes of cucumber and rose petals, may also make an excellent cocktail companion for your dashing lovage syrup, briskly stirred together over ice. A touch of St. Germain liqueur, perfumed with elderflower added into the mix surely wouldn't hurt either. Campari or chilly chamomile tea over a game of croquet. Why be mere? The only limit is the imagination! As Lettice Douffet says, "Enlarge! Enliven! Enlighten!"

Thanks to HerbGarden.co.za for the image of the lovage. And of course always, Dame Maggie Smith.

Peter's Summer Pasta

Here we are, back at the larder with a number of items staring back at us. Somewhat exhausted from an overly long excursion home, we wondered, "What to have for dinner?" Saffron-laced malloreddus pasta from Sfoglini seemed an easy go and once having made our dish, we thought orechiette or any smallish noodle such as rigatoni or elbow noodles would do as well in a pinch. Spigarello from a greenmarket was an option for an ingredient too. So, with a careful consideration of what we had on hand, I set to work which resulted in a joyous dinner.

Peter's Summer Pasta
Serves 2

Ingredients
1/2 pound pasta or more, if you're really hungry. Adjust ingredient portions accordingly. 
Large shallot,  thinly sliced
Bunch scallions, chopped
2 TB garlic paste
2 TB vibrant mustard, such as Roland's Dijon
2 TB anchovy paste
1 bunch spigarello greens, or broccoli rabe, perhaps arugula
Fistful of parsley
3 TB olive oil
2 TB butter
Summery combo of 4 smallish zucchini and yellow squash, thinly sliced
1/2 cup reserved pasta water
Grated Grana Padana cheese or Parmesan
Amaretti cookies or ginger snaps, crushed

Method
Bring enough salted water for your pasta to a boil. In the meantime, chop the stems of your greens and in a large pan, saute gently with shallots and scallions in two tablespoons of olive oil over medium heat. When softened, add in half of the garlic paste, anchovy paste, and mustard. Season with fine sea salt and freshly ground pepper. Add the zucchini and squash with half of the butter and turning occasionally, cook until tender. In a smaller pan, saute the leaves of your greens with the remaining tablespoon of olive oil and butter. Add in the rest of your pastes and mustard until the leaves are wilted. Season with more salt and pepper. Drain the pasta when done according to the directions on the box or bag, reserving 1/2 cup of the pasta water. Pour this in to the vegetables and let it simmer for a moment. Toss everything together gently and add cheese and more pepper, to taste. Top with the cookies or simple ginger snaps for a final flourish. A few glasses of a Pinot Gris and a  simple green salad tossed about with olive oil and red wine vinegar would be nice with this too. Do enjoy! 

Strawberry Risotto

Strawberries--in risotto? Sure it may sound unreasonable but boy, is it ever delicious! I hadn't made this seductive plateful in years and as I experienced the ripe, summery, creamy goodness once again I wondered why I had taken so long to make it once again! Chicken stock is fine to use, but surely any stock such as veal, mushroom or vegetable is entirely suitable, and liberally dose your dish with grated Parmesan and cracked pepper. It's patient work, continually stirring the stock in this particular rice over the course of about half an hour, but risotto is hardly deserving of all the fuss given; instead, it's all rather quite easy and creates a fine impression for guests while at it. Toss about a salad of fresh greens enlivened by a dressing of spring onions, shallots, Dijon mustard, more pepper and fruity olive oil. And as the recipe only requires a quarter of a cup of a crisp white wine, naturally, spill a few glasses while enduring the stirring and then pour some more with the rest of your finished dish!

Go here for the recipe, and thanks to my weather-worn copy of Saveur from May/June 1995.

Blue Crab Vichysoisse

A veranda with a view! Baby and I went on vacation recently to celebrate a very special occasion. At Pierre's in Isla Morada, we experienced a wonderful, cool vichysoisse that helped stave off the day's heat, still beating down around the bushes (and palm trees!). Here is our table with a sunset view.

Blue Crab Vichyssoise 
Serves 6-8
Ingredients
3-4 cups boniato potatoes (similar to a sweet potato but paler). Peeled, canned potatoes also work quite well in a pinch
1 bunch leeks, thinly sliced to yield about three cups
1 half bulb fennel, thinly sliced to yield about one cup
1/3 cup heavy (or light!) cream
2 cans lump crab, or fresh! 
Several teaspoons of thyme, to taste
Salt and pepper (white pepper is preferable, aesthetically), to taste
Key lime oil 

Method
Simmer the vegetables together until tender for about 45 minutes. If using canned potatoes, just simply heat them up with leeks and fennel simmering in another pan. Strain and mash potatoes with a fork. Puree leeks and fennel. Add seasonings all else together and gently simmer over a low flame. Take off heat and stir in cream just when about to serve. Add a tablespoon of crab to each bowl and drizzle with the key lime oil. Do enjoy! 

Shouldn't You Just...?

Freeze beautiful nasturtiums or other edible flowers in capacious ice cube trays and use to enhance the summer's sangrias and herbal iced teas?

Advice on modern etiquette for the not-so-new millennium.

Agnolotti and Ramps

It's amazing what encounters there may be hidden in the recesses of a refrigerator. I found about 9 oz. or so fresh agnolotti pasta stuffed with crimini and portobello mushrooms (I wish there could be a universal spelling for the latter fungi and that we could all just get along). Fresh ravioli of any sort would work too. They hadn't exceeded the expiration date so as I was feeling a bit peckish, I set to work. Baby was out of town, so I was eating for one. Remnants of ramps, the leafy, showier sister of scallions that sends everyone raving around May were also on hand. I thought to make a garlic and ramp olive oil to enrobe the agnolotti, instead of a red or cream sauce.

I started sauteeing the garlic over medium-low heat in a large pan and then added the devilish ramps...

 

which were unbridled once in the simmering oil, undulating and ballooning! I'd never seen such a reaction, short of my great-grandmother one year at the end of a most enduring Thanksgiving. 

 

Once the ramps settled down and were wilted, I removed them with a slotted spoon and set them along with the garlic on a plate lined with paper towels. The agnolotti were seared at lower heat (flat side down first before flipping over once browned, about 5 minutes per side) with a good heft of grated nutmeg and later, fresh cracked pepper. When they were sufficiently done, I took tongs and carefully placed them in a wooden bowl and grated cheese over them--a salty sheep's milk cheese works well for this. A fistful of fresh spring greens such as watercress, arugula, went into the still warm pan until they too wilted. After that, it was simply a matter of tossing it all together, plating it and topping the dish with a smattering of uncooked greens.

A dry, full-bodied, Californian Chenin Blanc/Chardonnay blend was also taking up too much space in the refrigerator and it ended up very evenly balancing the garlicky ramps, pungent mushrooms, the bitter greens and the salty cheese, that had all just been sitting around awaiting their particular call of duty.  It's grand that someone came up with the phrase "Waste not, want not," don't you think?

Try any variation of what you have on hand--and instead of seasonal ramps, consider a mixture of chopped leeks, green onions and shallots and do enjoy!

Spanakopita with Pe-tah!

It was a busy weekend, what with our Derby party Saturday and Cinco de Mayo/Greek Easter on Sunday! David and I had tried Mrs. K's spanakopita a few months ago and we absolutely had to have the recipe. She did send it to us and we made it to celebrate Greek Easter. This huge platter was absolutely delicious even though we did not have parsley, as we had used it for our Derby party and didn't want the bother of going out for more. It was of little matter; we grabbed a bunch of ramp leaves that we had on hand instead. We also misjudged the amount of  melted butter and didn't want to take the time to melt more but Pam cooking spray actually worked just fine. Nothing was a terribly difficult effort, it just took a long time to strip the spinach of its stems. Although it might sound unforgivable to some, when we make spanakopita again we might use frozen spinach instead for ease.   

So take it away, Mrs. K!

Spanakopita
Serves 10 to 15
Ingredients
3 pounds fresh spinach
2 bunches green scallions, finely chopped
1/2 cup minced parsley
1/2 teaspoon dill
1 pound crumbled feta cheese
8 eggs, beaten
Salt
Olive oil
1/2 pound filo pastry leaves
1 cup melted butter

Method
Wash spinach and cut off stems, dry completely with towels, then chop. Brown scallions in 1/2 cup olive oil until tender. Combine spinach, parsley, dill, beaten eggs and cheese; add cooked scallions, season with salt lightly and mix well. Grease a 9 x 13 baking pan and line with 5 sheets of filo, brushing each sheet with melted butter combined with 1/2 cup olive oil. Spread the spinach mixture over the filo evenly and cover entire top. Top with remaining filo, brushing each sheet with butter and oil, including top sheet. Bake at 350 for 45 minutes to 1 hour. Cool and cut into squares.   

Note:  For best results, cut through the top layer of filo with a razor blade or a very sharp knife BEFORE baking, this will ensure that the squares will not be crumbly and then you can finish cutting them when the pie is completely cooked.

May be served hot or cold in small squares or large squares. I usually cut them into 2" x 2" squares.